


you're like a gamble but i love playing it loose

by azul (7daysoftorture)



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: M/M, but with feelings, indirect kissing, love charm (but not really), soft kaishin, that's all yall are getting in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 12:12:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17386250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7daysoftorture/pseuds/azul
Summary: Kudou lets out a soft sound of surprise, and then his hands come up to grab at the lapels of Kaito's jacket, fingers tight on the fabric of his suit. "You've gone crazy, huh," he says, voice muffled. His legs are sprawled across Kaito's lap, and Kaito moves a hand up to his head again, scratching him behind the ears. "This is it. KID has finally snapped."or Akako wants Kaito to try out her new magic bracelets, but things don't really go according to plan (as usual)





	you're like a gamble but i love playing it loose

**Author's Note:**

> wrote this instead of studying for my exam, rip

Kaito's sitting on the edge of the soccer field sipping from his water bottle when Akako approaches him. She has her hair pulled back into a pony tail and her tracksuit jacket tied around her waist, her usual look for gym class, and she looks focused as she sits down next to him on the grass.

"I need your help with something," she says, taking his bottle from his hand and gulping down the rest of the water without pausing for breath even once.

Kaito eyes her warily, grabbing the bottle from her when she finishes drinking. "With what?"

"A spell," she says, taking a thin beaded bracelet out of her pocket. "Here." She hands it to him, and he takes it with no small amount of trepidation.

He lifts it to his eye level, inspecting it curiously. "What does it do?"

"It's an enhancer," she says, curling the ends of her hair around her index finger. "Of feelings, to be precise."

Kaito looks at her, lifting an eyebrow.

She sighs. "Imagine if you had some mild resentment towards someone, and that was your strongest emotion towards them. The bracelet would pick up on it and enhance it, making your resentment stronger."

Kaito humms, interested. "And it works?"

She shrugs. "Supposedly, but I haven't tried it yet. That's where you come in."

He balks at that, giving her back the bracelet. "I don't like the idea of having my emotions messed with, thank you very much."

"It isn't a very strong charm. It does nothing more than bring emotions to the surface," she says, pushing the bracelet back into his hands. "Besides, this is the receiver bracelet, so your feelings will remain unchanged." She pulls another bracelet, similar to the one in his hands but for a single red bead in its middle. "What I want you to do is to put this one on someone else, and wear that one," she points at the first one, "then we'll see if it works depending on the person's reaction."

Kaito frowns, running his thumb over the beads on the bracelet. "I'm not sure if I'm comfortable messing with someone else's emotions either, even if it's a weak charm."

She sighs. "Kuroba-kun, don't tell me you're suddenly developing iron strong morals." She runs a hand through her bangs. "How about this, you can pick someone you know well, this way you know how they'll react."

Kaito frowns, still unsure.

"I'll even allow you to explain what happened afterwards, so they don't get confused." She places a hand on his shoulder. "And you do owe me a favor."

He sighs at the memory. Yes, she did help him out on his last heist, there's no way he can refuse her now. "Okay, I'll help you. But let it be known that I think this is threading the line of messed up." He slips the bracelet onto his wrist, feeling a fresh wave of...something...washing over him. He shivers, and Akako smiles.

"That's normal, it's just the spell reading your character," she says, reassuringly. "Now, do you have someone in mind for the other end?"

Kaito is hit by the perfect choice. One person whose feelings he's sure of and who won't be hurt by this in any way. Someone he trusts and knows well enough to predict their reaction.

Akako seems to find his choice particularly boring when he tells her.

"Are you sure that's who you want to test it with?" she asks, pouting.

"Yes," he says, watching the rest of his classmates chase each other down the field, the ball somewhere close to where Aoko is running. "It's the only person whose feelings I'm sure of."

She taps a finger to her lips, thoughtful, and then shrugs, looking away. "Okay, do as you please."

"I really would rather not have to do this at all," he says. "But at least this way I can explain it before I do it. Get some consent, you know. As you're supposed to do if you're going to mess with people's thoughts," he says pointedly.

"Oh, leave off it. It's not as bad as you're making it seem," she says, scowling.

"What are you even going to do with this after I test it?"

She shrugs. "Not sure. I just want to know if it works."

He runs a hand through his hair and then grimaces when it comes away sweaty. "I'll do it tomorrow after the heist."

Akako frowns. "Why not tonight?"

"Mom only arrived yesterday, she's going out with some friends tonight."

"Hm," she looks off towards the field, her eyes following Aoko's form as she runs towards the goal to intercept one of the boys. "By the way, it has no effect if you wear both bracelets, so you can do that so you don't lose them."

"Oh, okay." He grabs the other bracelet from her and slips it onto his other wrist. He twists his arms, watching the bracelets dance around his wrists for a moment. "Fashion statement."

Akako snorts. "You're wearing bracelets, Kuroba-kun. Not a a shirt made of moondust."

"That's your definition of a fashion statement?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. "Moondust?"

She looks at him primly. "It's very powerful."

"Huh," he says. Some more useless information to add to his 'list of magical things that Akako mentions casually like it should be common knowledge'.

\-----_____-----

The heist starts simply enough. He's got the lights flickering trick down, the sleeping gas knocks out half of the task force, and then he grabs the jewel and goes rushing up the stairs to the roof. It's fine, it's cool, nothing can go wrong. That is, until he's climbing onto the railing, his dummy glider already disappearing into the distance, and realizes he's missing one of his bracelets. And to his dismay, it's not the red beaded one.

"No, no, no, no, no," he whispers, moving to pull the bracelet off his wrist, but then the door to the roof slams open behind him and he freezes.

"KID!" he hears a child's voice calling out. "You dropped something."

Kaito turns around, his heart in his throat, and sees Kudou Shinichi, the miniature version of him, smirking up at him and holding the missing bracelet between two fingers.

"I didn't know you liked stuff like this," he carries on, not judging, but with an interested look on his face. "It's kind of nice looking, I'll give you that." And then he does the last thing Kaito expected him to, the one thing he hoped he wouldn't.  
  
He slips the bracelet onto his own wrist.

Kaito feels it like a tug on his chest, making his knees feel weak and his heart start racing against his will. His face gets hot, so so hot, and he can feel his hands sweating under his gloves, like he's been standing under sunlight for too long.

"Oh no," he whispers, his voice cracking, and he can see Kudou look at him with wide eyes, clearly having felt the same strange feeling the bracelet gave Kaito when he first put it on.

"What is this thing?" Kudou asks, and his eyes are wide with curiosity but no real fear.

Kaito takes an aborted step forward, his hands tightening into fists with how hard he's trying to control his mouth.  _Don't say anything. Don't say anything. Don't say anything._  he repeats it like a mantra in his head, and the longer he says it, the more meaningless it becomes.

Why shouldn't he say anything? Because he's a thief? Because the person in front of him is a detective? Because he can tell lies and only lies?

He should be allowed to speak his feelings, let them out into the world and have them acknowledged by the one person that matters.  He shouldn't need to hide anything away, shouldn't need to bury everything in his chest until he suffocates. It's only fair that he should get to say whatever he wants, since half the time everyone else is just yelling their thoughts in his face.

"KID," Kudou says, softly, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?"

Kaito feels a soft smile spread over his lips against his will. Why is Kudou worried about him? He's supposed to want to arrest him, not care about his mental well being.

"I'm just fine," Kaito says. He eyes the bracelet on Kudou's wrist, suddenly not caring whether he takes it off or not. He feels drunk on his own feelings, like he's swimming in a sea of hot  _hot_  emotions with no inhibitions to hold him back from speaking his mind. "You have really pretty eyes."

Kudou's eyes widen and he takes a step back in surprise. "What?" he rasps out.

Kaito takes a step closer, kneeling in front of him so they're at eye level. "It's the only thing of yours I know is the same in your real body. The only thing I can really appreciate right now." He raises a gloved hand to Kudou's face, and is surprised when the other doesn't move away. "Clear like water," he whispers, running a finger under one eye, the tip of Kudou's lashes brushing against it when he blinks.

"You're not making any sense," Kudou says, barely above a whisper. His face is red, the flush spreading down his neck and under his collar. "Did you get hit by your own smoke bomb? Have you been drugged?"

"No," Kaito says, tapping a finger to the bracelet on Kudou's thin wrist. It's so large on him that Kaito's sure he could fit both arms in it if he tried. "It's magic."

Kudou rolls his eyes, moving his hand away. "Magic," he echoes flatly.

Kaito nods. "I was supposed to use it on my mom, after I explained how it worked to her, but I guess this is fine too." He runs a hand through Kudou's hair, feeling him tense under it for a moment before relaxing into his touch. "You're oddly compliant, even though I'm sure you have the receiver bracelet."

Kudou scowls, but doesn't move away. "Receiver bracelet?"

Kaito runs his fingers through the hairs at his nape, and Kudou lets out a soft sigh of contentment, closing his eyes. "According to my friend, the one wearing the receiver bracelet, in this case, you, isn't supposed to have any change in their emotions."

Kudou frowns, opening his eyes. "Change in emotions? I don't get it."

Kaito sits back on the floor, crossing his legs in front of him and pulling Kudou closer. "This," he says, lifting his arm and showing Kudou his own bracelet. "This is the one that changes emotions."

"How so?" Kudou asks, touching a small finger to the red bead. He still looks skeptical, but Kaito feels his chest warm at the thought that he's willing to hear what he has to say anyway.

"Enhances feelings, or something. At least that's what she said, and I'm inclined to believe her now that I'm experiencing it myself."

Kudou looks up at him, brow furrowed. "What are you saying?"

"Want to trade? So you can understand better?"

Kudou eyes the bracelet warily. "I don't know about that. You're behaving really strangely right now."

"I'm just being honest," Kaito tells him, placing a hand on the side of Kudou's neck. It looks so wide next to his small face, and Kaito gets the sudden urge to pull him in close and hug him tightly to his chest.

With nothing to hold him back, he does just that.

Kudou lets out a soft sound of surprise, and then his hands come up to grab at the lapels of Kaito's jacket, fingers tight on the fabric of his suit. "You've gone crazy, huh," he says, voice muffled. His legs are sprawled across Kaito's lap, and Kaito moves a hand up to his head again, scratching him behind the ears. "This is it. KID has finally snapped," he continues, leaning back against Kaito's gentle touch. "I knew it would happen eventually, because I never get to have anything good, but I didn't expect it to be like this."

"Now you're the one who's not making sense," Kaito tells him with a soft chuckle.

Kudou leans back just enough to allow himself the space to look up at Kaito. "I want to trade," he says.

Kaito grins. "Oh? I thought you were scared?"

Kudou scowls at him. "Not scared, just hesitant about putting on some bracelet you claim to be magical."

Kaito hums. "Are you sure about it? I know I suggested it but this is very..." he thinks of the right word, but all he can come up with is, "freeing."

"Freeing?"

"Like I'm walking on air, and can do anything I want because no matter what I won't fall down."

"That's a terrible analogy."

"I know, sorry. Drunk on magic here," Kaito says, waving his hand at his head as if it will explain away his terrible analogy making skills.

"You're just bad at analogies," Kudou says, and then looks down at his bracelet. "But I sort of got what you were trying to say." He grabs one of the beads. "Let's do this."

He pulls off the bracelet.

The effects are instantaneous. Kaito feels like he's coming up for air after an eternity underwater, a gasp leaving him as he leans down against Kudou, his body losing strength from the shock.

"KID?" Kudou asks, alarmed, his hands coming to rest on Kaito's chest, holding him up. "What's happening? What's wrong?"

Kaito feels his face warm up as what he's done hits him full force.

He told Kudou his eyes were pretty. He pulled him into his lap and petted his hair for no real reason other than that he'd felt like it. It's mortifying, for a moment, so _so_ embarrassing that he wants to run away and hide for the rest of his life, but then he thinks of Kudou's reaction, how he hadn't pulled away, how he'd accepted Kaito's touch like it was welcome, and his embarrassment fades away, replaced by something close to hope.

"I'm fine," he says, voice rough. "It's just a bit of a shock, is all."

Kudou looks him up and down, the worried look not leaving his eyes despite Kaito's reassurance. "Maybe I shouldn't try it after all. It seems a little dangerous." He grabs Kaito's wrist, his touch burning on Kaito's bare skin. "Let's take it off, okay? I don't like that on you." He slips the bracelet out of Kaito's wrist and places them both together on the floor next to them.

Kaito lets out a sigh, resting his head on Kudou's small shoulder. "Why are you being nice? It's weird."

Kudou lifts a hand to Kaito's neck, fingers twiddling with the short hairs there like Kaito had done with him. "You're the one who started being weird, don't turn this on me now."

Kaito snorts. "It's your fault for putting on the bracelet. Who even goes around putting other people's bracelets on just like that."

Kudou's fingers pause in his hair, and an embarrassed silence fills the air. Kaito leans back up, curious, and finds Kudou looking down at the floor beside them with his lips pressed together, red faced.

"Oh?" Kaito says, amused. "Why did you do it? Why did you put on the bracelet?"

Kudou looks at him from the corner of his eyes, eyebrows furrowed together. "I just," he looks away, running a hand through his hair, "I just wanted to try it on. I've never...seen something from your real life before," he admits quietly.

Kaito stares at him, feeling his chest constrict with how much he loves him. "You could've just asked. I'd have brought something."

Kudou looks surprised at that. "You would've?"

Kaito looks away, feeling embarrassed at how easily he'd surrender anything to him. "Sure, if it wasn't anything outrageous. I can't very well bring my bed to a heist."

"Right."

Silence falls over them then, and Kaito takes the chance to really look at Kudou, take him in. Kudou stares back, looking like he wants to say something but doesn't know how.

"You can touch," Kaito tells him.

"Touch?" he asks, looking unsure.

"Yes." Kaito grabs his small hands and brings them up to his face. "Touch."

Kudou draws in a soft breath in understanding, and Kaito lets his hands fall away, watching the show of emotions on his face as Kudou runs his fingers over his skin. He finds Kaito's lips, after brushing gentle fingertips over his nose and cheeks, and Kaito keeps his mouth closed, his heart beating fast and sweat forming on his neck.

"Soft," Kudou whispers, pushing his fingers against the plump flesh.

Kaito wants to tell him, _'yes, that's how most lips are'_ , but he can't bring himself to open his mouth with Kudou's fingers there.

He lets some of the tension in his shoulders melt away when Kudou finally moves from his lips and up to his eyes, letting his eyes fall closed and reveling in the tender feeling of Kudou's fingertips on his eyelids.

"I wish I could see you properly," Kudou says, his hands leaving Kaito's face after a moment.

Kaito opens his eyes, letting out a shaky breath. "I wish you could see me properly too."

Kudou bites his lip and looks down with a hesitant look on his face. He grabs Kaito's hand and slowly plucks out his glove until there's only bare skin showing. "Here." He brings his hand up to his lips, eyes never leaving Kaito's face, and plants a soft kiss on his palm, leaving the skin tingling in his wake.

Kaito breathes in, sharp and surprised, and looks at him with wide eyes.

"This will have to do, for now."

Kaito stares down at his own hand, palm hot with the leftover feeling of Kudou's lips on it, and says, "Okay," bringing it up to his own lips and kissing the same place Kudou had. "For now."

Kudou looks like he might burst from how pleased he is at Kaito's gesture, and he laces their fingers together, his hand looking impossibly small next to Kaito's. "You're unexpectedly sweet," he says with a grin. "I feel even more motivated now."

Kaito tilts his head. "To do what?"

Kudou squeezes his hand. "Get my body back to it's right size." He gets up to his feet and places his free hand on Kaito's cheek. "I can't have you waiting too long or you'll vanish."

Kaito feels like crying, his heart squeezing painfully in his chest from how happy he is. "I won't vanish," he says, voice cracking, face hot.

"I know.” Kudou smiles. “I'll make sure of that." He bends down to grab the bracelets. "Don't wear these again, please."

Kaito laughs, taking them from him. "You know they only worked like they did because you had the other one, right?"

Kudou frowns.

Kaito swings their linked hands from one side to another, emboldened by their previous display of emotions. "I only have eyes for you~"

Kudou flushes prettily, his hand trembling in Kaito's grip for a moment before he squeezes him so hard their skin turns white.

"Me too," he says, looking away in embarrassment. "Only you." 

 

End. 

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me at:  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/wingsoutforshin)  
> [tumblr](http://bluelipgloss.tumblr.com/)


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